


Story of Asami

by flames



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami Month, Korrasami is Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:01:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5252606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flames/pseuds/flames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami invites Bolin over for tea as he suspects her feelings for Korra. Asami tells him everything: from her relationship with Mako, Korra's relationship with Mako, the friendship that seemed to withstand anything, and how she started to realize Korra was more than just a friend. Asami is confused and is hesitant to tell Korra in fear of damaging their friendship and leans on Bolin for advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. THE BEGINNING

**Author's Note:**

> this is based a lot on my interpretation of Asami and Korrasami in general, as there wasn't enough screen time dedicated to Asami or Korrasami  
> Korrasami is canon  
> I'm not affiliated with Legend of Korra in any professional way whatsoever  
> stuff in italics is Asami's internal monologue

My nails normally looked a little scuffed, what with tinkering around in the workshop, but at that moment they were particularly bad. I hadn’t stopped picking at them since I arrived at the police station a couple hours before. Mako had tried to stop me by holding my hand but I just shooed him away. Dad knew about him and welcomed him with open arms into our home, along with Bolin. Spirits, he welcomed the Avatar herself. He sponsored the Fire Ferrets! Why? Why would Hiroshi Sato, the man who had a hatred for benders brew inside him since Mom’s death, let three benders into his home if he wanted nothing more than equality?

_Equality. As if this was even close to equality. This was just violence._

“Alright, kid, now I just have to ask a few questions.” It was Lin. Lin Beifong? Chief of Republic City police, Lin Beifong? _This is how big that this “equalize” situation has become, that the Chief is now involved? And now I’ve been dragged into it. Wonderful._ “I gotta ask some routine questions. I need your name and some information about tonight-“

“My name is Asami Sato.” I told her. “Tonight I discovered my father’s secret workshop where he built weapons for the Equalizers. He said it was for my mother. She was killed by benders when our home was broken into years ago.”

“You say ‘discovered’ as if you hadn’t known about this workshop.”

I stopped picking my nails and looked right into her eyes. “You think I knew about this? That I would be okay with my father making weapons, and in honour of my mother? This is the last thing she would have wanted. If I had known I would have put a stop to this violence. I’m dating a bender! I’m friends with his brother, I’m friends with the Avatar!”

Lin rolled her eyes as soon as I mentioned Korra. I guessed she was still irritated with her untimely arrival. “Yeah, and your father was a-okay with them spending time with you. He was almost too welcoming to them, wasn’t he? People do crazy things to look innocent. You wouldn’t believe half the things I’ve seen people do to clear their names.”

“Listen, I like my friends, benders or not.” I was trying to be tough, really, but it was here I realized why he was so okay with the crew. He didn’t actually care about them. They were pawns. I was a pawn. And that broke my heart.

A lower-ranked officer opened the door and popped his head in. Korra was behind him and gave me a sheepish smile. I pretended not to notice. She was right and I should have taken her concerns more seriously. “Lin, a word?” She groaned and held the door open just a crack as the three spoke in agitated whispers.

“She couldn’t have known, you should’ve seen her face when she saw the workshop,” Korra had said. Lin was busy telling her off for interfering with yet another police matter.

The other cop chimed in. “Chief, I think she’s right. Let her go. She’s had a long day and needs to go home and get some sleep.”

“I don’t want to go home,” I called loud enough for them to hear, still picking at whatever was left of my nails. The door reopened. “I don’t want to be anywhere that will remind me of him.”

“You can stay at Air Temple Island with us if you want?” Korra offered.

I got up, nodded and followed her out. “I would really appreciate that.” She walked a little ahead of me so as to avoid eye contact (I guessed that being friends with the boyfriend of the daughter of the former CEO now-terrorist was a little embarrassing).

_You shouldn’t be thinking that. Korra is your friend._

_Yeah, okay, she’s my friend, so why does she act weird around me? What have I ever done to her?_

She had always seemed, well, agitated with me, agitated at my presence. Everything that Mako had to say about her was wonderful. She was a good friend, she was fierce both in and out of the arena, she was fearless, but whenever she saw me she seemed nervous. As if there was something she knew that I didn’t. As if there was something about me that scared her.

_Me, scaring the Avatar? Okay. Sure, Asami._

The only time she ever seemed comfortable around me was when I had her and the boys over at the estate and I took her round the track. “Let’s do it!”, she said when I suggested it, the cramped feeling easing up on her face, the big cheesy grin she had that I caught in the reflection of the rear view mirror. She told me she had me pegged wrong.

 _She had your father pretty well-pegged._  


	2. SPIRITS AND NIGHTMARES

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (sex implied)

There was a strong scent of my father’s pipe and, no. It couldn’t be. Jasmine? It wasn’t the fake jasmine aroma of perfume either…it was real, and warm. There was the soft slurping of tea coming from somewhere in the room that I couldn’t quite place and the buzz of the radio music. Dad was home.

            I stood on my toes and just touched the handle of the door and it swung open. “There’s my girl!” he said, nearly knocking his tea over as he scooped me up and sat me on his lap. “And what did you do today?”

            “Tell him how we picked the jasmine for tonight’s tea, dear!” It was my mother. She handed me my own little teacup half-full with a piece of ice floating in the middle and kissed my forehead. I looked up to make eye contact but her face wasn’t there, only her hair as it swept across my nose when she leaned down to kiss me and her hands holding out my teacup. _Why can’t I see her?_

            I gasped, then cried out. Mako rustled in his sleep and tried to hold me. I couldn’t be held. I needed to cool down, but in no way would lying naked next to my firebending boyfriend help. I know I shouldn’t have, but I snuck him into the girl’s dormitories of Air Temple Island after everyone had fallen asleep. The thought of him not being with me had rubbed me the wrong way as Ikki had said something a little unnerving earlier.

            She and Korra were showing me to the girl’s section of the island. Korra, again, was walking a little hurriedly in front of me, Ikki babbling along as she walked next to me. I wasn’t really listening but her cute chirpy voice was definitely cheering me up. “Did you know Korra likes Mako?”

            Korra stopped in her tracks for a mere second before swinging open a couple doors that lead to a room. She politely showed me in and promptly slammed them shut to lock Ikki out. “Here’s your room!” she sighed, “I know it’s a little rustic compared to what you’re used to."

            “I think it’s really charming.” I assured her. “And the best part about it? Nothing here reminds me of my father.”

            Trying to get an answer out of Mako was nearly impossible. He looked just as caught in the headlights as Korra had in front of my room an hour earlier. “She has feelings for me” he finally confessed. Apparently they had gotten into a heated argument earlier where he reaffirmed that he had feelings for me, to which Korra had responded that he was thinking of her the entire time.

            _Some nerve that girl has_. I wished I could be angry about it but instead I was downright impressed. If anything I was worried she was right but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him if it were true. I kissed him instead, we ended up naked, put the pieces together for yourself.

            I couldn’t bring myself to be sour with her, either. I could tell something was up between the two of them, but that wasn’t really her doing. If Mako really wasn’t being true to me that was his problem. And besides, Korra needed help defeating Amon, and I doubted that any boy drama would help the situation. The stress of her inability to airbend certainly had a negative contribution, too. Relationships were not the priority at that point. Team Avatar needed to stick together.

But there was still something so __satisfying_ _ in having him to myself. I knew it was wrong. I knew that they should have been together from the start and that I meddled my way into it, but I wanted some fun.

            By the time Mako and I had broken up I had already lost feelings for him. I went from being mad at him, to being mad at myself, to not caring at all. I still can’t believe I wasted so much time on him. I couldn’t believe how strong Korra was for not letting her love for Mako get in the way of her work or her friendship with me. She defended me to the very end, she risked everything just to confront Tarlok about my unfair imprisonment. Nothing got in the way of her being the Avatar. Nothing.

            And I guess that’s how she and Mako broke up.  I know I shouldn’t have been so entertained by their relationship, but it was like a trainwreck. Team Avatar just couldn’t look away. It was like the two of them were in constant competition to see who was more hotheaded, and in the real end, Korra won. Well, at least I think she did. She gave Mako a run for his newly-earned money.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Bolin interrupts. “What do you mean, the 'real end'?”

“Bo, you know that the first time Mako and Korra broke up I made a move on him.”

He shuffles in his seat (well, my seat, technically. To be specific, my kitchen chair, as he chewed on some bizarre snack he brought with him). “But if you stopped having feelings for Mako why did you kiss him again?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” I pour myself more tea from the pot and sigh. “I think I wanted to make sure I wasn’t into him anymore, and I wasn’t, but I was jealous for whatever reason.”

“Because you liked Korra!”

I rolled my eyes and continued with my story.

            But again, we couldn’t focus on drama. Now we had Unalaq trying to keep the Spirit portals open in time for Harmonic Convergence and we needed to take action. Future Industries was all but down the drain, what with my father's reputation and my warehouse being ransacked and Varrick simply being Varrick. I was too scared and too busy to think of anything other than what could happen if we had a Dark Avatar on our hands. I was too angry at the fact that Unalaq could even think he was on Korra’s level, that he could just make himself as powerful simply to cause destruction. I didn’t have much time to focus on anger, though, as Korra put me in charge of keeping her parents safe the night of the Convergence.

            “Asami?” her hair was a mess. “Can you take Uugi and my dad back to my mom?”

           Of course I helped in any way that I could. I had never been so on edge as I had when she entered the Spirit World to fight Vaatu, or Unalaq, or some combination of the two of them. I was scared for her, scared for little Jinora, scared for the entirety of Team Avatar battling in the Spirit World and scared for the balance of the world itself. There was too much at stake. If she lost…

            _She’s not going to lose. We’re talking about Korra. Keep a straight face and focus on her parents and helping Katara with Jinora._

            The water in Jinora’s little bath rippled, then splashed. It had been stagnant for a week but she was back and she was smiling as always. Everything was okay. Unavaatu had been defeated. The world was, momentarily, back in balance.

            “What about Korra?" _Spirits, Asami._ "And the others?"

            “Don’t worry. They’re alright.” Her smile grew even bigger. “Korra saved the world.”

            As it turns out, Korra couldn’t have done it without Jinora. I kind of wish I could have been there to see the battle. Apparently, it was as beautiful as it was destructive. Kind of like Korra. But Spirits, was I proud of her. Her decision to keep the Spirit portals open, her prioritizing not only the world but herself above Mako, her sheer selflessness, I could go on for hours. I was so, so beyond proud of her.

            Unfortunately most of the world felt a lot differently.


	3. Snazzy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With new Airbenders to be found, Asami finds that she might have feelings for Korra.

Pabu jumps into my lap and eyes my tea. “What, are you thirsty?”

“Jasmine’s his favourite,” he says, still crunching his food. “And just to clarify, you don’t have feelings for Mako? At all?”

“He's a very good friend," I assure him, "and he's important to me, but I can't see him as anything more. I just can't." I don't want to go into what had happened between us while Korra was gone. I was alone, I missed her, and I regret it. It was a stupid decision and it was a wasted night.

Bo shrugs. “I don’t think this was ever really about him. You and Korra, I mean. I don’t really think that the drama between you two over him was ever actually about him. I think, for you, this was about Korra all along.”

I pour some tea into a bowl for Pabu and set it on the floor. “It was about Mako for Korra.”

“That’s been over for, what, three years now? Four? Sami, if she wanted to be with him, she would be with him. This is Korra. She does what she wants.”

 _Then she obviously doesn’t want me_.

 

            I was sitting at the little desk in my bedroom looking over some contracts that had recently been signed between purchasers and Future Industries. I couldn’t believe that I had managed to drag the company out of its grave with everything that had happened in the past few months. Blueprints for the newer model of the Satomobile were next to the pile of deals. I was going to be back in the workshop and I was going to be in an office. Things were looking up.

            The door flung open and a gush of wind scattered the papers across the room. “I’m so sorry!” it was Korra. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair up. It’s-“

            “Snazzy?” I finished with a chuckle. My mother always joked about how snazzy I looked any time we made a public appearance to promote the company. For events my hair would always be up in a bun, a couple loose curls would strategically ‘fall out’ and tickle my shoulders. That night it looked a bit sloppier.

            She laughed too. “Yeah. Snazzy. Anyway, I have good news and bad news and a favour to ask.”

            “Goodness. This late at night? Go for it.”

            “I’ve been kicked out of Republic City.”

            “What? Why, what did you do?”

            She sighed and tightened her ponytail. “Apparently I’ve caused ‘nothing but trouble’ since I arrived here, and Raiko wants me out.” she made a face when quoting Raiko that I couldn’t not laugh at.

            “So what now? Where are you supposed to go?” I didn’t want her to leave. We had just had a really nice day together joking about how weird Mako had been acting around the both of us. We confessed that we had each made a move on him when he was with the other and it felt like it cleared any bad energy that had kept us at a distance. She called me her girl friend. She couldn’t leave now, not as we were just starting to get close.

            “This is where the favour comes in. I need to borrow an airship.”

            “Korra, you have no idea how to operate an airship." I put my glasses on my desk and Korra awkwardly handed me the papers that she sent flying. "You nearly drove a Satomobile into a Spirit vine yesterday.”

            “I know, and that’s where you come in!” her eyes widened and she had a bit of a half-grin as she excitedly filled me in. “We’re going to Ba Sing Se to look for more Airbenders! Everybody is joining us, we’re going to try to rebuild the Air Nation at the Northern Air Temple. We’ll make some stops along the way in towns that reported new Airbenders, Mako is bringing a map for us tomorrow.”

            “Hey, I guess that means he’s done being weird around us.”

            “I hope so.”

            I sat down and looked at the inventory report. A company had just put in an order for airships and we only had a couple at the time, so technically taking one would be irresponsible. But flying one above cities like Ba Sing Se would be great advertising.

            _You’re the CEO, you can do whatever you want._

            “I’m in. Let’s do it.”

 

            We left the following morning. I flew the airship down to Air Temple Island and opened its doors to the public with my hand on my hip. “Did someone order a fully-equipped Future Industries airship?” I was back in business, I was becoming close with Korra, and I was about to leave on an incredible adventure.

            She beamed up at me. “It’s perfect! Thanks, Asami.”

            I flipped my hair. _What in the Spirit World was that?_ “I figured if we’re going to Ba Sing Se to search for Airbenders we should do it in style.”

            She didn’t mind the hair flip. I don’t think she did, anyway, she didn’t mention it. In fact, we kept getting closer. We kept joking about Tenzin’s well-intentioned ways of recruiting the new Airbenders to join us that inevitably blew up in his face. Nobody really wanted to leave their old lives behind. He started trying to tempt people with tattoos and vegetarianism and giving up worldly possessions and we started to see why nobody wanted to join.

            “We can’t just expect people to give up everything they have just to learn Airbending, Korra.” I told her on one particularly rough day when she tried to drag a guy out of his house. “People have a right to live the life they want.”

            “I didn’t.” she scoffed. “I didn’t choose to be the Avatar, but you don’t see me running away from my responsibilities just because I would rather work on a farm or something.”

            She had a point. “Maybe we just need a new tactic.”

            I could almost see the wheels turning behind her eyes when they suddenly met mine and something danced in my chest. “Mako will probably hate it, but I think it’ll work.”

            “I love it already.”

 

            Mako certainly hated it. We decided that Tenzin and Korra would showcase their Airbending talents in a little street performance. Mako would play a Firebending convict who had just escaped prison. Korra would save the day by catching him using Airbending, then we would ask any Airbenders to come speak with us.

            I stood a little bit behind the crew and watched. Bolin was as enthusiastic as ever, Jinora was so graceful, and Mako? Was just as unimpressive as he was unimpressed with the idea. And Korra seemed real unimpressed with him.

            Within seconds he was flailing in the air, shrieking for Korra to put him down. “This is not what we rehearsed! Korra!”

            She looked back at me, laughing, and I laughed with her, the same feeling in my chest as when we locked eyes last night.

            _What a show-off._


	4. BANDITS AND SECRETS

The next time Korra came to ask me a favour, she knocked. I placed a little paperweight I had taken from my father’s office on top of the growing pile of blueprints. I know that originally I didn’t want anything that would remind me of him, but I was starting to miss having him around, as betrayed as he made me feel. I had always admired it as a child. It was a gift to him from my mother. I guess in keeping it I could at least have the memory of them still together, still happy, still a family.

            _Team Avatar is your family now._

            “Hey, I have another favour to ask, if you don’t mind.” She said, slowly inching in so as not to send my belongings whirling in the air.

            “You don’t have to be so careful, Korra, I put a paperweight on top of the blueprints,” she gave a bit of a forced laugh as she came in, I guessed she was still a little embarrassed. I smiled to show her I didn’t mind. “What’s up?”

            “Her Majesty wants me to pick up a tax collection in a town a little south from here. I, uh, was hoping you’d tag along?” she tried to lean back on a control table, thinking it was a desk, and set off a few buttons, and shrieked as the airship grumbled.

            I rushed over and turned off the controls. “Don’t worry, you’ve only turned the heating on. I’d love to. Should we bring the boys along with us?”

            “I was kinda thinking maybe it could be just you and I? Like some girl friend time,” she tugged at her side ponytail, “unless you think we should bring them with us? I mean, the Queen mentioned something about bandits, but that’s nothing we can’t handle, we’ve battled Equalists and bad Spirits, but if you think-“

            I stroked her bicep to reassure her. _Girl friends totally do this kind of stuff._  “We’ll be alright. You’re the Avatar, I’ve got an Equalist glove and years of self-defence training, I think we can handle a couple bandits.”

            “Perfect, great, thank you so much Asami!” she gushed, then turned super serious. “We leave in an hour. I'll meet you in the airship.”

 

            And, of course, there were more than a couple bandits. Too many to count. They circled us on motorcycles and hooted and hollered at us. Worse yet, our escorts fled for safety as soon as they arrived. I charged up the glove and looked at her.

            “Maybe we should’ve brought everybody else.” She mumbled.

            Looking back I don’t know how I wasn’t terrified. We were surrounded by a group of outlaws who seemed willing to cause some serious harm just for a couple bags of gold. We were definitely outnumbered and lacking in weaponry. But I felt the adrenaline rise just below my ribs and above my stomach and into my heart. I could feel the glove warming up on my hand. I inched closer to Korra and, with a scowl on my face that taunted _just try me_ , and analyzed the group. We could handle this.

            They instigated the attack but Korra was too fast for them. A giant brick of earth shot out from the ground and sent a couple guys flying like the papers in my bedroom. I ran, head on, towards another bandit brandishing some sort of club and yelling as he rode right at me, but jumped over it and kicked him off the bike.

            There was another one charging at me and I didn’t have time to react but another wall of earth shattered from the ground and hit him. I turned and saw Korra behind me. She winked.

            With another blast of air two more bandits who had gotten their hands on some gold were knocked off their bikes as I jumped over a spear, slammed the glove into the bandit who aimed it at me, and took the weapon for myself. Korra finished off the leader with yet another column of earth that got him in the gut.

            “Retreat!” he bellowed, the other bandits climbing back onto their bikes and scampering away. “You’re on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not to the queen!”

            “Why do I get the feeling he’s right?”

            I turned off the glove and started wheeling the bags of gold onto the airship. “He is. But if we want to find the Airbenders in Ba Sing Se, we need to get this back to the Queen. Come on. I’ll make the trip back a little fun.”

            “Yeah? How?” she asked as we made it back onto the ship.

            I realized how much of a mess my hair probably was and ran my fingers through it a couple times. “I’ll tell you a secret about me and you’ll tell me a secret about you. Girl friend stuff.” In truth, I didn’t really know what girl friends did at all. I didn’t have too many friends growing up. Dad kept me under close watch out of fear. Team Avatar was the first group of friends I ever had.

            She gazed out the window as I fired up the engine and took off. “You flip your hair pretty often. Maybe you are kinda prissy.”

            “Since when do I flip my hair often?” but I knew she was thinking of the other day when I brought the airship to Air Temple Island.

            “You should learn how to drive,” she teased, batting at her ponytails, “besides, it’s relaxing.”

            I had completely forgotten about that. _I need to watch myself, this is getting out of hand._ “I’ll flip my beautiful hair as much as I please, and I’ll take a few bandits with me as I do it.”

            She shrugged. “I’ll admit I’m impressed. I don’t think I could ever keep my hair down. Gets in the way of Avatar stuff.”

            “Sure it does.”

            “Anyway, tell me a secret.”

            _I think I like you?_ “You first.”

            She sighed and thought for a second before answering. “I wish I wasn’t so hot-headed.”

            “Maybe hot-headed isn’t the right word?” I suggested, checking the map again to make sure we were heading in the right direction. “You’re passionate and you’re protective.”

            “So are you but you’re not angry like I am.”

            “You’re not angry. I’ll admit, at first I found you a little intimidating, but that was only because I hadn’t gotten to know you. When you first arrived in Republic City you were a little unpredictable, and maybe a little hot-headed.”

            She chuckled. “Told you.”

            “But you’ve grown a lot since then. Not to mention, when you first arrived, you were thrust into a pretty serious situation. You hadn’t dealt with anything like that before. You spent years sheltered and were expected to suddenly know how to solve every issue immediately. Anyone would react with frustration.”

            “I guess so.”

            “And now look at you. You were able to give Benders their abilities back. You kept the world from falling into Unalaq’s hands. You opened the spirit portals and now you’re on a mission to rebuild the Air Nation after it was pushed to near extinction almost two hundred years ago. Your passion has brought a lot of good to this world.”

            She gave me a half smile and thanked me before keeping quiet for a couple minutes. I guess she was reflecting. “Your turn.”

            “I’ve had nightmares ever since the night my mother died.” I confessed. _She is your friend. This is probably what it's supposed to feel like when you get close to another girl. This is not a crush._

            “What do you do when you have one?”

            I shrugged. “Depends how I wake up. Sometimes I wake up shivering and need to wrap myself in multiple blankets just to feel safe. Sometimes I wake up burning with a fever and have to either sit outside or take a cold shower.”

            “How often do you get them?” she crossed her arms. “Sorry. That’s none of my business.”

            I smiled. “It’s okay. Usually three times a week. It was a lot worse before. I used to get them every night. Apparently nightmares are linked with stress so I always try to relax before bed with a cup of tea or some stretches.”

            “You could always come sleep with me, if you want,” she offered, cracking her knuckles and trying not to make eye contact. “I mean, I can Firebend to help you warm up or cool the room down by Airbending or something.”

            “That means a lot to me, Korra. Thank you. I might take you up on that offer.” I let the airship descend as we flew over Ba Sing Se and landed it near the guesthouses where we were staying. “Home sweet home.”

            Korra shot off the floor where she had been sitting cross-legged and grabbed the wheelbarrow with the tax collection, “I should get this to the Earth Queen. We need to find those Airbenders,” and left without saying goodbye. I was okay with that, though. I was too content to really care. I got off the airship and went to take a nap as she brought the gold to the Queen and had one of the best dreams of my life. I can’t remember what it was about but all I know is I woke up with a smile on my face and that was good enough for me.


	5. RESCUE MISSION

The rest of our time in Ba Sing Se was beyond hectic. The Queen informed Korra that there were no Airbenders in the city after she returned with the tax collection. Mako and Bolin hadn’t returned with Kai yet, leading us to worry that all three were now lost somewhere in the city, it was obvious that the Queen wanted us out, and Korra refused to leave without a couple Airbenders and the rest of the crew.

            As horrible as it sounds, having alone time with Korra while Mako and Bolin were gone was wonderful. When we weren’t distracted with other matters (looking for Airbenders, trying to run a business while abroad, you get it) we were constantly joking around, training, and talking about anything and everything. Everything between us flowed so naturally that I began to think maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that we found each other all those months ago. Maybe with Harmonic Convergence and the opening of the Spirit portals our energies became further intertwined. We were drawn to each other.

            At first I was hesitant to sleep with her. I didn’t want to intrude on her or invade her personal space or interrupt any Avatar meditation stuff. But one night I had a particularly bad nightmare and woke up feeling as if my skin was on fire.

            _She wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t mean it._

            And I tried to cool off, to fall back asleep, but I couldn’t. I was wired and scalding. I threw a robe over myself and crept down the hall. A bit of light was peeking through from under her door so I knocked and stuck my head in. “My turn to ask you a favour.”

            She got up from doing crunches and waved for me to come in. “Nightmare?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Do you want to talk about it?”

            “Not really. I need to cool down.”

            She opened the windows and immediately her room became a wind tunnel. I shrieked, expecting maybe a cool breeze, and the air fell back to normal. Her hair had been ripped out of the ponytails and was strewn across her face. “That’s a nice look for you.”

            She smiled as she tied it back up again. “Am I snazzy?”

            I flipped over to twist my hair into a bun and stood back up again to make eye contact. “Always. You know, a gentle draft would have worked nicely.”

            “Yeah, sorry.  I’ll keep that in mind next time.” She stretched climbed into bed. “You joining?”

            My heart fluttered. “Sure.”

            She scooted over to make room as I tucked myself under the silken sheets. “I won’t sleep too close. I, uh, don’t want you to burn up again. You need rest.”

            “Thank you, Korra.”

            “Sweet dreams,” she said as she sunk into her pillow.

            “You too.”  I was sound asleep by the time I rested my head upon mine.

 

            The next morning Korra needed to let off some steam, so naturally, I obliged. There wasn’t much I could do, though, considering I wasn’t a Bender and therefor couldn’t spar with her, so I put on a couple punching pads and readied myself.

            “I can’t—believe—that woman,” she muttered between punches, “making me do her dirty work, just queening around!”

            I drew back the pads and burst out laughing and her next swing set her off-balance as she hadn’t actually hit anything and she fell to her knees. “Korra, do you know what queening is?”

            “No…” she looked thoroughly embarrassed.

            “Maybe don’t use it in reference to abusing royal power.”

            She got up and rubbed the dirt off her knees. “What is it?”

            “I’m sure you’ll learn someday.” I lifted the pads again. “Go.”

            She started kicking the pads, muttering about the queen again, and using more force behind each jab until finally she incorporated some Airbending and knocked one of the pads right off me.

            “I think I could use a break! You letting off steam is starting to hurt,” I took off the other pad and shook my hurt wrist, “a lot.”

            “Sorry…”

            Pabu scurried over to get our attention. Korra and I turned to see what he was trying to get us to notice: it was Mako and Bolin, looking dishevelled and, if I’m being honest, a little greasy.

 

“Oh, were we a little greasy? I’m sorry. I didn’t know that we weren’t up to par, we had spent a night in the streets!” Bolin says, waving his arms around in his usual theatrical manner. “And thanks for missing us. Means a lot.”

“You know what I mean!” I realize he’s just poking fun and laugh with him.

He sips his tea and cocks his head. “Seriously, what’s queening?”

 

            With news that the Queen was kidnapping new Airbenders and training them for her army, and four criminals who were imprisoned thirteen years ago for attempting to kidnap Korra had escaped, Team Avatar was back in action.

            “It’s a little weird, but I’ve missed this kind of excitement.” Korra told me as we took a break while trying to figure out how we were going to free the Airbenders. “Searching for Airbenders is fun but I miss danger.”

            I nodded. “Don’t let Jinora hear you. She’s worried sick about Kai.”

            “True. How are we going to get them out?”

            I sighed. “Well, we have two airships now that Lin’s here. We have a flying bison. We could use Jinora to keep an eye out for guards if she projects her spirit into the encampment.”

            “She’s too young, Sami.” It was the first time she used a nickname for me.

            “Aang and Katara were around her age when they set off to defeat the Firelord. Toph was even younger. Jinora is wise beyond her years, it’s nothing she can’t handle.”

            She was sitting on the kitchen counter of the guesthouse and swinging her legs. She looked away from me and watched her feet for a few seconds. “Let’s go back to the airship idea. You and Lin could wait for our signal and take the airships to meet us and the Airbenders above ground so as to make a quick escape.”

            “Okay, but how do you plan on breaking in and letting them out? You’re just going to tip-toe in and hope for the best?”

            “Sounds about right.”

            I rolled my eyes. “Well, Avatar, you’ll have to keep me posted on the radio.”

            “Without a doubt.” She leapt of the counter and patted my shoulder. “We make good partners in crime.”

 

            Korra was right. Finding Airbenders was definitely rewarding but there was something fantastic about Team Avatar breaking rules and sneaking about again. It was thrilling and anxiety-inducing and gratifying all at the same time.

            “This is Korra, come in Partner in Crime.”

            _You’re joking around during a rescue mission?_ “Yes?”

            “We got them but Mako, Bolin, and Jinora are still searching for Kai. Bring in the airships.”

            I paged Lin and we made our way there within a couple minutes. They were hidden under the scaffolding of the new temple but there was something on the scaffolding itself, waiting…

            _It’s the Dai Li_.

            She made a move and I couldn’t warn her in time. I paged Lin. “Now what?”

            “Move in. We need to get them so we can leave immediately.” She had been more stiff-necked than usual since the mysterious Zahir and his friends had broken out of prison. She was insistent that Korra leave the city immediately to a safer location but Korra was relentless. She wasn’t going to turn her back on the Airbenders and she certainly wasn’t going to turn her back on Kai.

            We lowered the ships and helped some of the Airbenders on as Korra and Tenzin fended off the Dai Li. “We need to move out,” Lin said, “now.”

            I waited until Korra got onto my ship and followed Lin’s orders. She hadn’t told us which ‘safer location’ we were headed to in case any Dai Li agents overheard, considering after we broke out the Airbenders we would likely be enemies of the state and the Queen wouldn’t necessarily mind helping Zahir get his hands on Korra.

            Korra let herself into the command room and closed the door behind her. “Did we get Kai and the others?”

            _Spirits. We forgot about the boys and Kai and Jinora._ “No. Lin told me to move out as soon as you were on my ship.”

            I turned the ship on autopilot and we ran to the windows. Dai Li agents were still trying to shoot down the ship by throwing massive pieces of earth at us. More were chasing Mako, Bolin, Jinora and Kai and they were dangerously outnumbered.

            “Wait, Tenzin’s on Uugi. He can get them.” I assured her.

            Sure enough, with a burst from the ground, Bolin projected them into the air and onto Uugi. We had everybody. Korra leaned back from the window and whistled. “Thank Spirits. I could use a nap.”

            I motioned towards the chair I could have been sitting in. “Go for it. I’ll watch over you and wake up when we get there.”

            She curled up and rested her head on her chin. “Thanks, Sami.”

            “Anytime, partner.” I said in a cowboy accent. She chuckled, and within seconds was snoring softly.


	6. TIPSY AND SLEEPY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: alcohol use, sex mention

After our first night together I couldn’t imagine sleeping without her. Although Su had given us all our own rooms during our stay in Zaofu, I only spent one night in mine. Korra was comfortable and fun and she ignited something within me that I hadn’t felt before. Something that I wanted to be engulfed in flames that led me to, and from, Mako. I felt it spark within me whenever I tried working a prototype for the first time or whenever I kissed a stranger on a night out during my somewhat rebellious phase when I turned seventeen. I could still picture the potential headlines (had I been caught): Heiress to Future Industries Caught Getting Friendly with a Mystery Man!

            After I would sneak back into the estate I would be worried sick that I had been seen. What if someone was able to catch a picture? What if I kissed a paparazzi in disguise? What would Dad think? What would happen to the company?

            _Dad obviously didn’t care about the company._ I got angry and wanted to sneak out into the city again, to flirt my way to a couple drinks and a few stolen kisses, only to run off leaving him turned on. But there was nowhere to go in Zaofu. Every night the city would go into lockdown under giant, impenetrable sheets of metal that closed over sections of the town the way a tulip closes after a sunset.

            But in Zaofu I had something much more exciting than the act of secretly defying my father. I had Korra. I had a friend to laugh and cry and sleepily cuddle with. I had someone to spill my secrets to.

            _Well, not all your secrets._

            It got to the point that Korra expected my company every night. She started leaving her door open just a crack so I wouldn’t have to wake anyone by knocking, but I’m sure our tired laughs and loud whispers did the trick. One night I snuck sidecar ingredients out of the kitchen and into Korra’s room.

            She turned and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, is there a banana in your pocket or are you excited to see me?”

            “Spirits, Korra, it’s the ingredients I promised you.” Although, mind you, I was excited to see her. I placed the bottles and a couple glasses on her desk and started mixing. “You’re going to like it.”

            “You’re sure? I’ve never drank before.”

            I handed her a drink and put my hand to my heart. “Oh, my sweet, innocent child! How is it that the master of all four elements has never had a drink before?”

            “I am very focused on my training, Miss Sato. How is it that the heiress of an incredibly successful company has never been caught drunk and disorderly?”

            “That’s a great question,” I said, and clinked my glass to hers. “Drink up. Take it slow, though, I don’t want you to get ridiculous.”

            She shuddered after a little sip. It was kind of amusing to see the self-described hot-headed Avatar, who had defeated Amon and saved the world during Harmonic Convergence, irked at just a sip of a cocktail. “After the burning sensation wears off, it’s actually kind of nice.”

            “You’ll get used to it. Just takes a little practice.”

            She sat cross-legged on her floor and took another sip. “I can’t believe you used to sneak out. Here I was thinking you were prudish.”

            I sat across from her and tucked my legs to my side like the prudish lady she presumed me to be. “And I thought you were a badass.”

            “What do you even do when you go out? Like what happens?” she Waterbended her drink into a circle just above her head and let it drip into her mouth.

            I finished my drink and went to pour another one. “You dance. You find a nice-looking boy and you dance close with him and he buys you drinks. You kiss a bit. Sometimes you go back to his place and fuck.”

            “I didn’t know you could dance!” She let her drink fall back into her cup and took another sip. “I didn’t know you fucked around, either.”

            “I could teach you.”

            “How to fuck??”

            “No, Korra, how to dance!” I hadn’t thought of fucking her until that moment. I didn’t realize how enticing it sounded until I imagined it and suddenly I wanted us both to be naked and pressed together. I offered my hand and she took it. “Now, I’ll lead, because I’m taller. Just follow me.”

            She held my shoulder a little too tightly and I rested my hand on the small of her back. _Is she nervous?_ She looked from our feet up to my eyes. “Shouldn’t we have music?”

            “Do you have music?”

            “No.”

            I started humming. “We’ll start off slow, okay?”

            Surprisingly, she picked it up pretty fast. I assumed being light on your feet as an Airbender and being fluid to change as a Waterbender helped. Her back, however, was as stiff as earth. I didn’t mind. She was new at this and it takes time to learn.

            Her hair was down and swirled over her back and shoulders as we spun around and around. My robe tickled my thighs as it was swept by the air and I guessed it might have tickled against hers, too, because we were close and she was wearing shorts. Her hand started to get a little clammy in mine, her cheeks a little pink and her brow furrowed in concentration. “Relax, Korra, it’s a dance. Not an Earthbending technique.”

            “You’re so elegant, Asami. I never noticed how fancy you are.” She chuckled and pulled away for a sip of her drink. “Not that you don’t seem fancy, you do! I just didn’t know how fancy you were. I’m impressed.”

            I sat on her bed and sipped my drink. “I wouldn’t call sneaking out and fucking strangers fancy.”

            She sat next down next to me and rubbed my arm. “Well it’s not vulgar, either. It’s just something that people do in the city.”

            “The city? What, is there nothing to do in the South Pole?”

            She shrugged. “There’s stuff to do but you can’t really fuck. There’s not a lot of privacy.”

            “So…you never fucked until you got to Republic City?” No way had the Avatar never fucked until this past year.

            She laughed and looked at her feet. “It’s really embarrassing but Mako was my first time.”

            _Oh, Spirits, the poor girl._ “Oh dear.”

            “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought him up,” she scooted back to lean on the headboard, “not like in a sex way I guess.”

            “Kor, it’s totally okay.” It was the first time I used a nickname for her. “We’re both over him and we’re best friends. I’m just sorry that Mako was your first time.”

            “He wasn’t too bad!”

            I laughed. “He’s not too bad. He’s above average but I’ve definitely had better. There’s better sex out there.”

            She finished her drink and tried to put it on the bedside table but it slipped out of her hand. “I wouldn’t know.”

            I got up and put our glasses on her desk. “I’m sure you’ll find out.”

            “What, like queening?” she was definitely tipsy and giggling.

            I shook my head as I laughed. “Something like that. Here, drink some water before we go to bed.”

            She took the glass from my hand and chugged it. “Sami?”

            I climbed into bed next to her and brushed her hair out of her face. “Yeah?”

            “I really like you.”

            It wasn’t just my heart that throbbed. Between my legs did, too. “I really like you too, Korra.” _Kiss her. Kiss her!_

            And I would have, too, but she was tipsy and half asleep and I couldn’t. That was no way to treat a person. That was certainly no way to treat a best friend. I wished her goodnight and rolled over, brimming with confusion and a bit of self-hatred. _This it what having a girl friend feels like_.

 

            There was a tiny little light that wouldn’t get larger no matter how close I tried to get to it. I extended my arms, feeling for a wall to guide me, but there was nothing. I took a couple small steps to make sure it wasn’t a trap. It was just a cold floor. Why am I not wearing shoes?

            I started to jog. The floor was getting colder, so cold that it started to hurt my feet. I ran. My feet started to stick to the floor. They were stuck to the floor. I couldn’t move. The light was dimming. It was singing. It was asking me to come closer and touch it, “save me”, it called, “save me, Asami”.

            It was Korra’s voice.

            “Kor!” I howled. I was tangled in sheets and shivering.

            Her arms found mine and held them down. “Sami, it’s me! It’s me. It’s okay, just sit still, you’ll hurt yourself.”

            I lowered my arms as my panting levelled out. My hands were in fists. _You’re okay. Just another nightmare._

            “There you go, you’re okay. What happened?” her hands were originally grasping my wrists but she moved them to hold my fingers.

            “I’m so—“ I breathed “it was so cold. You were in trouble and I froze, I was frozen to the floor, I couldn’t get to you but you sounded hurt.”

            “Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe. We’re in the safest city in the world, remember? Nothing happened. We’re together and we’re safe.” She held my face and I finally made eye contact with her. “Are you still cold? I’ll hold you.”

            I laid back down. “I’m sorry.”

            She held me and stroked my hair. “It’s okay. Get some sleep.”

 

            I woke up in Korra’s arms and noticed the sunlight seeping through the curtains and stretching across the floor. The blankets were pulled all the way up under my chin and I could feel her breath on the back of my neck. She was still asleep and snoring ever so slightly. I took her hand in mine and pulled her closer to me to keep myself warm. It was nice to wake up having somebody wrapped around you without having to deal with morning wood poking you in the butt.

            She slid her arm up from the curve between my ribcage and my hip to around my bicep, keeping her hand in mine, and it fell just in front of my face so that my lips grazed her fingers. I kissed them. She squeezed my hand in return.

            “Did you sleep okay?” she asked.

            “Never slept better. I felt so safe.”

            “You’re so cozy,” she pulled me even closer to her, “we should snuggle more often. If that’s okay with you. I mean, if it makes you feel safe. I don’t want you to have trouble sleeping. You need to sleep. Going without sleep is really unhealthy and we can’t afford to get Team Avatar sick, you know.”

            I giggled. “I’m more than okay with that. What time is it?”

            “Probably time we get up and get breakfast with everyone.”

            We spent another ten minutes in bed together before begrudgingly crawling out of the sheets and changing into clothes. We somehow arrived at breakfast before Bolin, who was usually the first there, considering his stomach acted as his alarm clock. We did, however, arrive after Lin and Su, and the tension in the room was asphyxiating.

            “Lin, you have let your anger fester inside of you for thirty years. It’s unhealthy and it’s making you lash out. I wish you would just talk this out.”

            “There is nothing to talk about. You know where you went wrong. But you have no idea what a toil it took on Mom because you weren’t there.”

            “I had to leave!”

            Korra coughed and Su immediately smiled. “Girls! Glad you’re finally awake, it’s almost noon. Opal is very excited to start her training.”

            “I didn’t realize how late it was…” Korra mumbled.

            “And I’m sure Varrick would love to go over some designs…” Su added.

            I crossed my arms. “Absolutely not. I refuse to business with him ever again, that slimy, scheming—“

            Korra elbowed me. I had forgotten that Su firmly believed in forgiveness. Especially forgiving criminals.

_I don’t think I’ll ever understand that._


	7. lol gay

I was in my room for the first time since our first night in Zaofu. I had neglected looking over blueprints and sketching designs for what felt like years and needed to get back in the swing of it. Varrick kept trying to squeeze himself back into the company and I was trying my best not to snap at him. Even though his reputation wasn’t great at the moment, if word got out that the new CEO of Future Industries attacked Varrick, the company would be down the drain. Again. And I didn’t know if I would be able to pull it back up a second time.

That being said, I seriously considered handing the company over to somebody else in order to work full-time with Team Avatar, but quickly realized how ridiculous that would be. I had narrowly escaped bankruptcy and needed money to survive. I needed to keep the prototypes rolling so Team Avatar could use the best and newest technologies whenever needed. I needed to prove to my father that I could do just fine, and maybe even better, without him.

_I can’t let bitterness fuel me. I am continuing with the company because I get enjoyment out of being a designer and a businesswoman. And because I’m almost broke._

“Hey, kid.”

I nearly jumped right out of my seat. I was so focused I didn’t hear the door open. “Spirits, Lin, a knock would be nice.”

“Sorry.” She closed the door behind her and leaned against my wall the way Mako used to. “What’s going on between you and Korra?”

“Excuse me?”

“Asami, I’m the police chief of Republic City, I can tell when a couple teenagers are hiding something. This is the first time I’ve seen you in this room since we got here. Spit it out.”

I gulped, but stood up to face her. “We’ve been hanging out a lot, that’s all.”

“You’re determined, kid, I’ll give you that,” she scoffed, stepping closer to me, “but we can tell our own kind.”

Now I was downright confused. “Our own kind? What are talking about?”

“I don’t mind covering for you two every now and then. I know the feeling. But if I have to spend time on the job keeping you two at arms distance from each other just so that she can get some work done I’m going to be real unimpressed, and I trust you don’t want that.”

It was true. She had attacked Su earlier over something that happened over thirty years ago and I certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of an angered Lin Beifong. Ever. “What are you suggesting?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

“Business before ‘hanging out’, Sato.” She used airquotes at “hanging out” and my face flushed. “Thought so.”

The door closed quietly behind her and I could hear her metal uniform clink as she walked down the hallway.

 

Lin put me so on edge that I slept in my own room that night. I hated it. I had to lie to Korra about why I couldn’t sleep with her and I think she could tell that there was something that I wasn’t telling her. I couldn’t risk it, though. I couldn’t let myself feel this way for Korra. She was a friend, that’s all, and me “hanging out” with her was starting to go too far. I shouldn’t have told her about my nightmares. I shouldn’t have slept in her bed. I shouldn’t have kissed her fingertips when she moved closer to me.

_But she moved closer to you. Maybe she feels the same way._

“I think I need to reflect.” I had told her outside her room after everyone had retired for the night. “What Opal said earlier about how family members shouldn’t hurt each other really hit a nerve for me.”

It wasn’t a lie, either, I really did need to think. But I could have very easily reflected on it in bed with Korra. Truth be told I really wanted to talk to Korra about it. I hadn’t really spoken about my father since that night at the police station. I swept it under the rug. I let it fester.

She nodded in agreement but looked a little disappointed. “I totally understand. Don’t be a stranger if you change your mind.”

It turned out being one of the dumbest decisions I had ever made. It took hours for me to fall asleep, and not long after I finally drifted off I heard the boys causing a ruckus outside.

_Really? In the middle of the night? Is it Worldwide Fight Your Sibling Week?_

I rolled back over and closed my eyes again.

“Let her go!” Mako shouted.

_They have Korra._

I sprung out of bed and ran outside towards the boys. A couple of spotlights were on what I presumed to be the group of recently-escaped criminals. One of them had Korra over his shoulder.

A tall woman with an eye on her forehead scowled at one of the spotlights and it burst into flames, the second spotlight followed suit seconds after.

Giant metal plates flew from the walls surrounding us and enclosed the group. Lin was yelling for them to surrender as she Metalbended.

“Korra’s still in there with them.” I whispered.

I couldn’t register any of the commotion around me. The ground was melting and blocked us from getting to them. Su was insisting that Bolin pitch a rock at the tall woman’s third eye to stun her so she and Lin could move in.

Bo couldn’t get a clean shot but Lin and Su were descending from above on cables anyway. He threw another rock and hit her forehead. She screamed.

Lin grabbed Korra and began the ascent. Her body was limp. It wasn’t until the woman with water arms tried to grab Lin’s foot that I felt the rage start to burn up in my stomach. The Airbender flew at them and Su shot him down with a few shards of metal.

He landed with the rest of the criminals. There was a whirlwind of air, and they were gone.

I walked with Korra as she was carried back into the estate. “I’m not sleeping without you ever again.”

She may have been heavily sedated but I’m still sure I saw her give me a tiny smile.

“Man, I forgot how much those guys were capable of.” Bo says from the couch. “They were so determined that it was scary and kind of inspiring.”

“Inspiring? They almost killed Korra. That wasn’t inspiring, it was terrifying.”

“But they risked everything.”

I pick up Pabu and stroke him. “As if we didn’t?”

“We definitely risked more.” He says. “We risked Korra and that could have ruined everything. Like, really everything. Everything in the world everything.”

“I know.”

 

            Korra lead the way past Su and towards our bedrooms. “Pack only what you need,” she whispered to the boys, “and meet at the Jeep that Su is loaning us in ten minutes.”

            After the attempted kidnap Korra was hell-bent on finding whoever had let the criminals into the city. She spent hours interrogating guards with Aiwei when he lead her to believe it was a younger guard that was born and raised in the city. Mako, however, realized that it couldn’t have been a younger guard that had never left Zaofu. How would he have gotten in contact with or even known about these criminals?

            So, naturally, we snuck into Aiwei’s house to look for clues and found a secret tunnel. He showed up and, long story short, escaped through the tunnel and blew up the house to erase any evidence.

            Korra insisted on hunting him down, Lin and Su said no, and I fully expected another fight to break out because, hey, that’s all that ever happened since our arrival. But instead Su saw us afterwards, gave us the key to a Jeep, and told us to find Aiwei. She wanted him almost as badly as Korra did.

            I changed out of my skirt, threw on my jacket and pants, and shoved a couple maps, some lipstick, and my Equalizer glove into a bag and went to knock on Korra’s door. She was already walking down the hallway to meet me. “I missed your Team Avatar, badass, don’t mess with Asami Sato outfit. Don’t get me wrong, the skirt is cute, but you look—“

            “Snazzy?” I winked as I held the door open for her.

            “Actually, kind of hot.” We made it to the Jeep before the boys did. “Can you drive the Jeep? I’ll take Naga to track Aiwei’s scent. We’re going to need to travel until daylight, he’s probably covered a lot of ground by now.”

            “Absolutely. I brought a couple maps in case we get lost, but I have a feeling this won’t take long. Once we catch him we’ll head right back and hand him over to Su. She’ll see to it that he’s brought to justice.”

            Bolin came running with a massive backpack. “Road trip! I brought snacks, don’t worry, we won’t go hungry.” Mako sauntered behind him with nothing.

            “Alright, well, throw your stuff in the back.” I told him as I buckled into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. “Get in. We need to leave.”

            Korra hopped onto Naga and they were off. I had to floor it to catch up with them. Bolin immediately broke out his snacks and offered them to us, but Mako was silent and I was too focused on driving. Being behind the wheel again was almost as good as being back in the workshop. The jeep didn’t have any windows, or doors, or a roof, but I was pretty thankful as the cold air kept me alert. Bolin fell asleep within an hour but Mako stayed as awake as he was quiet.

            “What’s up with you lately?” I asked as it neared four in the morning. “I know you’re still moving on from you and Korra but you’ve been so off, especially around her and I, and I’m worried about you.”

            “Nothing’s wrong.”

            We drove in silence for another hour and the sky started to get light. The kind of light where you can’t really see the sun yet because it’s still low on the horizon, but everything turns a pink colour for a few moments before the sun peeks at the world to say good morning, and the sky becomes blue again.

            Mako shuffled and crossed his arms. “I’m sorry I’ve been so off. I guess it’s just weird for me to see two of my ex-girlfriends get along so well. I feel kind of forgotten.”

            “Neither of us are going to forget you, Mako.” I assured him as Naga started to slow down. _She lost the scent._ “You made me feel safe at a time that I was more vulnerable than ever before. And from what Korra’s told me, you’re pretty special to her, too. Nobody forgets a first love.”

            “You two talked about me? When? What did you say?”

            Naga stopped and Korra jumped off her. “Only good things!”

            We made eye contact as I pulled over and killed the engines. “For real?”

            “Of course, Mako. Sure, you kissed Korra while you were with me and I kissed her after she disappeared, but that’s all water under the bridge. Don’t flatter yourself by thinking that she and I are sworn enemies because we fought for your attention months ago. You’re a great guy and we’re both great girls but it didn’t work out. That happens. Move on. Team Avatar needs you and you’re no help if you’re brooding over girls you once lusted after.” I got out and slammed the door behind me.

            Bolin jolted. I had completely forgotten he was asleep. “Good morning to you, too!”

            I ignored him and approached Korra. “Did she lose the scent?”

            “No, I think she found something.” She slid a boulder out of the way as Mako and Bolin approached us. The boulder had been hiding a Jeep behind it. “Good girl, Naga!”

            Mako mumbled something about going into town to ask around about Aiwei and Bolin immediately suggested disguises and side stories. “We can go with you?” I offered as he threw yellow raincoats over Mako and himself.

            “You stay here in case he comes back.” Mako said, as he meandered towards town. Bolin followed, chirping about some backstory about a war and a girl.

            Korra was sat on the boulder with her back to me. I immediately started searching the other Jeep and expected her to join, but she stayed put. “You alright?”

            “What do they want with me?”

            I opened the glovebox and found a note about a rendezvous. “I don’t know, but I think I found a clue?” She jumped off the boulder as I read it aloud. “Xia Bau’s grove, sundown.”

            She handed me a map and a few spirits danced around. I shooed them away to see the map better, but Xia Bau’s grove wasn’t anywhere to be found. _How is it that Aiwei’s scent is here but Xia Bau’s grove isn’t?_

            Mako came back. “We found Aiwei at an inn.”

 

            And so the stakeout began. We managed to get the room directly across from Aiwei’s thanks to Bolin’s celebrity status as a mover star. It was cramped and smelly and boring. Bolin and I spent a few hours playing Pai Sho.

 

“I remember that!” Bo interrupts (again). “You know, I’m still waiting on Korra to standardize the rules.”

“I’m sure she’ll get round to it.”

 

            Around sundown Korra lost her patience. She waltzed right into Aiwei’s room and we found him…meditating. The spirits dancing around the map, the meditation, they’re in

            “Xia Bau’s grove isn’t in the physical world. It’s in the Spirit World,” she sat cross-legged on his bed opposite him. “I’m going in after him.”

            We waited a few more hours and I didn’t take my eyes off her. Bolin paced around the room and made Naga nervous. I stroked her head, still watching Korra, as Mako stayed near the window. Bolin peered through the curtains and gasped. “They found us!”

            Sure enough, Water-Arm Lady and Lavaman were outside. Mako grabbed Korra’s body and sat her on Naga. “You get her out of here, we’ll stay and hold them off.”

            I took that as an olive branch and burst out the room, Mako and Bolin on our heels and I heard the fight begin. I wrapped my arm tighter around her and begged Naga to go faster. Korra had now been gone for a couple hours and I was really starting to worry.

            _What if she’s stuck there?_

_Stop worrying. It’s Korra. She’s survived worse._

            I didn’t look back until I approached the trees. The town was at least a mile behind me. If they had gotten past the boys I would have known by now. We were safe. We would head back to Zaofu and tell Su everything and wait for the boys to return. I kissed her cheek.

            _I don’t just love her. I’m in love with her._

            The ground rumbled below us and a wall of earth burst out the ground to block our path. I turned Naga only to face another wall, and another, and another. We were trapped. Naga was whimpering and Korra was still lifeless.

            “You’re not taking her without me!” the words echoed off the walls. This time I wasn’t just going to watch. I was going to protect Korra or I was going to die trying.

          


	8. FIRST KISS

Korra was screaming at the guards to release her. We had been held in the dark camp so long that the light was a little too bright for me. It took a second, but after my eyes adjusted, I recognized what was in front of us: a Cabbage Corps airship. I had never been so excited to see that somebody had chosen another company over Future Industries.

            We were lead onto the ship and into another dark chamber. I was originally meant to be chained to the floor, but I flirted my way to be chained onto a bar on the wall. I had studied Cabbage Corp’s ships in order to make Future Industry’s even better, and if I remembered correctly, Cabbage Corps used cheap material and cheap work. I could easily rip the bar out and free myself.

            So I did. Then I ripped open the flooring, snuck behind the guy I had flirted with, knocked him out, and stole his keys to free Korra. She ripped the mask off her face and threw it to the ground. “Let’s take control of this airship.”

            By take control, she meant nearly destroy it. We crash-landed in the desert and had to build a makeshift sand-sailor to get to civilization.

            “You know,” I said as jumped off the sailor and followed her into the bar, “we make a pretty good team.”

            She nudged me with her elbow. “What, you’re just figuring that out now?”

            And then we heard another familiar voice, two of them, actually. It was the boys. They were okay. But they had a message for Korra from Zaheer. He was headed to the Northern Air Temple to wipe out the new Airbenders. He would only leave them be if, and only if, Korra gave herself up to him.

 

            It was about an hour before sunrise. I walked into the radio room, figuring Korra would be in there, waiting for any word about the Airbenders. “You should get some rest. We’re battling Zaheer tomorrow so you’re going to need whatever energy you can get.”

            “How am I supposed to fall asleep? The Air Nation has been nearly extinct for almost two hundred years. It can’t be eradicated again. We can’t sit around and wait for another Harmonic Convergence and hope that it brings more Airbenders ten thousand years from now. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop worrying about them.”

            I sat down next to her at the table and took her hand in mine. “Worrying is a waste of imagination, Korra. It won’t change anything. I’m worried sick about what might happen tomorrow but at the end of the day worrying won't save the Airbenders.” _I’m worried about what might happen to you._

            She rested her head upon my shoulder and sighed. “I’m worried about you. I’m worried about all of you. None of you have to do this, it’s my job. I can’t put you in danger.”

            “As if we’re going to let you walk right up to Zaheer and let him do whatever he wants with you? Absolutely not. Of course this is your job, of course this is a sticky situation, and of course none of us have to be there, but we want to. We love you. We’re not about to lose you.”

            “I love you too, Asami.” She squeezed my hand the same way she had the other morning, before the Red Lotus tried to kidnap her. “I’m scared.”

            I tried not to let a tear slip out of my eye and down my cheek but it happened anyway. “I’m scared, too.”

            “What happens if this is my end? What happens if I don’t make it?”

            “Don’t talk like that.” My voice cracked.

            She lifted her head and looked at me. “This is what comes with the job, Sami, it could happen. It has to happen eventually.”

            “No,” the tears were now flowing, “it’s not going to happen. They’ll have to kill me first. They’ll have to get through all of us first.”

            She shook her head, her eyes now watering at the sight of my tears. “You don’t have to do that.”

            I got up and started running my hands through my hair. _Don’t pick your nails. Don’t get anxious._ “Yes, Korra, I do. In fact, I’m going to.”

            “Not so loud,” she shushed as she stood, “you’ll wake everybody.”

            “You have to make it,” I whispered as she held my hands to keep me from ripping out chunks of my hair, “you have to. You have to, Korra.”

            “I’m not leaving you.” She wiped a tear off my cheek with her thumb. My breathing slowed back to normal and our eyes met. She shook her head. “I’m not—“

            I didn’t let her finish. I kissed her.

            And she kissed me back, a little hesitantly at first. Our lips parted for a quick second and we breathed each other in before she kissed the corner of my mouth. I gasped and she pulled me in closer, before finally sitting and pulling me into her lap, our lips messily pressed together. I straddled her as she put one hand on the small of my back and another between my shoulder blades. I caught a glimpse of my lipstick smudged across her mouth.

            “I’m not leaving you…” she said between kisses, “I’m not leaving you.”

           


	9. ASAMI ALONE (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: alcohol use, sex

“Wait a second, you gotta clear something up for me. If you and Korra already kissed, why are you so worried about you two? It’s obvious you love each other. Just go kiss her again.”

I sigh. “It’s not that simple, Bo. I don’t think she remembers.”

“What?” he throws his hands in the air, “how does someone forget a first kiss? That never happens. Ever. She definitely remembers, you just need to tell her, and you’ll be together forever.”

“She forgot that Mako broke up with her after she was eaten by that giant spirit thing in the ocean, remember? And you saw what Zaheer’s poison did to her. I’m surprised she remembered any of us.” _Besides, if she remembered, why wouldn’t she make a move?_

He starts bending a crystal on my coffee table to spin right in front of my face. “She remembered after a while, though. She confronted him about it. She lost her memory for a bit but it came back. Who’s to say it won’t come back again? Who’s to say she ever forgot?”

I snatch the crystal out of the air and roll it between my palms. “I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to approach it. I don’t know how to ask. I don’t know if she forgot entirely or if she vaguely remembers it.”

“Only one way to find out.” He shrugs.

 

            It was about half past midnight when she sat in the barstool next to mine. She was wearing a dress that was so dark blue it looked nearly black and matching black heels, as I was told that she would. “Well, if it isn’t Asami Sato of Future Industries. They told me you were a prominent figure but I must admit that I’m pleasantly surprised.”

            “Remind me of your name again?” I gulped down the last bit of scotch and handed the glass to the bartender as he passed by us.

            She stroked my fingers. “I can be whoever you like, honey.”

            "Nobody can know."  _Am I really doing this?_ “I need you to take me home and fuck me.”

            “Ah, I see. You’re confused.” She moved her hand up from my fingers and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Don’t worry. I’ve been the first time for a lot of girls. I could tell you secrets about some very important women in this city that you would never believe.”

            I gulped. “I thought part of the deal was keeping it a secret?”

            “Depends how well I’m taken care of afterwards.” She was still playing with a strand of my hair. “What a headline this would be: CEO of Future Industries Caught with Female Escort!”

            “Have you ever been in prison?” I asked her. “Because I’m very close with not only high-ranking officers of the city police but the chief of police herself. I’ll take care of you, but if anything slips out, you’ll never walk these streets again.”

            She licked her lips. “Sounds…dangerous. Why don’t you take me home, Miss Sato, and we’ll finish our conversation as we cozy up by a fireplace?”

            I lead her outside with me and hailed a cab to take us back to the mansion. “Just pretend we’re friends, don’t make any moves on the ride there.”

            Sneaking around without the threat of parents hearing you drunkenly sneak back into the house wasn’t as fun. The streets didn’t sparkle the way they did when I was sixteen. I didn’t have to peek over my shoulder every couple blocks to make sure I hadn’t been recognized by paparazzi. I was an adult, I was now allowed to go out and have a couple drinks. It wasn’t scandalous anymore. Sure, meeting with a paid lady _(is paid lady even the right term? I don’t know what I’m doing)_ and taking her home was a little risky, but now I had too much responsibility on my hands. Dad wouldn’t be there to wash the stain out. I would have to deal with the repercussions myself.

            _I’m too old for this._

            I paid the driver as we pulled through the gates and lead her into the guest bedroom. I couldn’t fuck somebody in my childhood room, and I certainly wasn’t going to fuck somebody in the master bedroom where my parents used to make love. I would fuck her in the guest bed, ask the maid to wash the sheets in the morning, then carry on with my life.

            She laid her coat on the armchair and took me by my hips. “How do you want me, Miss Sato?”

            I leaned in as if I was going to kiss her cheek but something deep inside came over me and instead I gently bit her earlobe. “Rough.”

 

            Ten months later I decided I needed to talk to somebody. I needed to get everything off my chest but I couldn’t just lean on anyone. Talking to Mako probably would blow up in my face, he’d ask if he wasn’t man enough for me, he would be sure that I was only ever with him because I wanted to be near Korra, and I couldn’t hurt him like that.

            “She’s not an easy person to move on from,” he told me over lunch one day, “I think part of me will always love her.”

            _She’s mine_ , I wanted to say, but I bit my lip and pick at my nails. “Do you think you’ll ever get back together again?”

            “No. We loved each other but what we had was really unhealthy.” There was a radio dispatch and he had to leave lunch early, something about infiltrating the Triads, and I didn’t speak to him again for a few weeks.

            Sometimes I would head to Air Temple Island and chat with Pema over a couple pots of tea. I really enjoyed her company, and she quickly became a mother figure to me, so I considered confiding in her. But every time I went to visit I couldn’t quite spit it out.

            Finally, I called Lin. “You remember what you said a couple years ago about Korra and I, something about covering for us because you knew something was going on because you could tell your own kind?”

            “Congrats, kid, you’re gay. You do realize this is my work phone, right? How did you even get this number?”

            “Lin, I don’t know if I am. I’m attracted to men.”

            She groaned. “So you’re bisexual, join the club.”

            “Lin, I don’t know what to do, I miss her and I feel like the old prototypes that never came to be anything collecting dust in my workshop,” I guess because I had held it in for so long that once I partially released the pressure valve everything poured out all at once, “I’m in love with her and I haven’t heard from her in over a year. I don’t know.”

            “Let what love you have for her push you to work hard and create.”

            I thought of all the times that Lin had protected Tenzin’s family and realized exactly what she meant. “Okay. Thank you.”

            “Can I get back to work now?”

            “Tell Mako that I said hello.”

            I whipped out my pencils and blueprint papers and tied my hair in a ponytail. There was a park in the city that still didn’t have a name and I was going to dedicate a section of it to Korra. There was a statue of Aang, why shouldn’t there be a statue of Korra? It would be a bit of a jab to Raiko, too, for kicking her out of the city after the “trouble” she caused. I would incorporate Spirit vines in the park too, there would be a fountain, it would be a relaxing place to escape from the hectic city. People could meditate or practice bending. Korra would love it.

 

            Six months later, when the park was finished, I moved out of the mansion. I couldn’t be there on my own. It felt empty after losing Mom, it felt emptier without Dad, and it was at its emptiest without Team Avatar visiting on a weekly basis. I didn’t earn the mansion myself, it was passed down to me from my lying father who made millions trying to eliminate bending, and it felt violated after the break-in all those years ago.

            But I didn’t sell it. I still needed the workshop and the meeting rooms for business purposes. It just became work instead of home. I needed a place for myself to escape to, a place nobody knew about, a place where people couldn’t reach me and I could be alone. I needed a home.

            _Korra was my home._

_Stop thinking about her. It’s been over a year, you’ve sent a letter every week, and she hasn’t responded. She is not your home._

            So I moved into a studio apartment in the city. Not directly downtown, though, but in a student neighbourhood near a university, which wasn’t too far from Korra’s park. I envied college kids. They would get their work over with and drink and laugh and fuck on the weekends. They got to be adults without adult responsibilities. They got an experience I would never get to have.

            In saying that, though, I had some pretty fantastic experiences while they lasted. I travelled the world with Team Avatar. I helped take down Equalists, I was on the front line when the Spirit Portals were opened, I searched for Airbenders and even helped ensure the safety of the new Air Nation. How many college kids could say the same?

            I unlocked the door to my apartment and carried in the last of my boxes. Within a couple days I would be fully moved in. I had already set up the essentials: my bed was made, my kitchen was stocked, and I had a radio to listen to. All I needed to do now was make it my own place. I set the boxes and went downstairs to the lobby of the building to check my mail. I had asked the post office to forward anything sent to the mansion to here so I wouldn’t have to change my address. This was going to be my secret getaway. I unlocked my mailbox to find a few coupons to local restaurants, a couple letters for the business, and a fairly beaten up envelope without a return address.

            I walked back up to my own apartment, throwing the coupons on the kitchen counter as I passed it, and sat on the couch to read whatever was in the envelope. It was from Korra. She was better physically, but from what I gathered, she was stuck. She couldn’t get into the Avatar state and she couldn’t get past what Zaheer had done to her.

            _Of course she’s stuck, she’s sitting in the South Pole while the Earth Kingdom crumbles. Knowing Korra she’s kicking herself for not being able to help. And, knowing Korra, she's not going to stop kicking herself, and that was going to be another obstacle for her to overcome._

            “Please don’t tell Mako and Bolin I wrote to you and not them. I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but it’s easier to tell you about this stuff.”

            _Of course it’s easier to tell me. We’re in love. Stupid Avatar._

            I must have reread the letter a hundred times that night. I kept it in the drawer of my bedside table and read it whenever I had trouble falling asleep. I read it any time I had a nightmare. Sometimes I brought it to work with me and read it during lunch. Sometimes I would fall asleep clutching the damn letter in my hands. It was pathetic, but I missed her, but before long the letter didn't smell like her anymore and I had no other option except to try to move on.


	10. ASAMI ALONE (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: sex

I woke up around ten and I swear the sun had only shone brighter once before: the day that Korra and I woke up curled up into each other before the incident with Zaheer. But the sunlight seemed appropriate that morning. _Today’s the day!_ The city’s new train system, designed by yours truly, was being opened, meaning that Future Industries was officially saved. I had spent the past three years dedicating myself to not just saving the company from the brink of bankruptcy, but helping it grow and thrive. Better yet, tonight Korra was scheduled to arrive back in Republic City.

            More than anything I was thankful that I snapped and spoke with Lin. Diverting the energy I had been using to miss Korra into my work was probably one of the best things to happen to me in a while. While I was thrilled that Future Industries was again a reputable company, I loved being in the workshop. I loved making deals and making better technology. Not to mention, Korra’s park was a huge success. It became a sanctuary to anyone and everyone in Republic City. Mako had called once because he found a group of homeless people camping out there at night, asking what I wanted done with them.

            “Let them stay. It’s public property and it’s what Korra would want.”

            I hadn’t heard from her since that one letter. I stopped rereading it so often it but it stayed put in my nightstand just in case. But I continued writing little letters to her, not necessarily expecting an answer, but purely so she knew that I was thinking of her and cheering her on during her recovery.

            I also started going on dates again. Nothing serious ever came of it, but getting back out there was nice. I couldn’t spend all my time thinking of Korra. Going on dates with men was eye-opening as the only guy I ever seriously saw was Mako, and that certainly didn’t end well. Dating girls gave me a whole new perspective and allowed me to experiment and helped me become confident enough to start identifying as bisexual. I had been stuck at the apex of an emotional block but I decided to focus on myself and Future Industries and I was finally feeling happy again.

            After the opening ceremony for the new train system I made my way to Air Temple Island. I couldn’t contain my excitement, I felt like my childhood self trying to fall asleep the night before my birthday, and I figured that seeing the Air babies would foster the adrenaline rush in a positive way.

            Pema hugged me upon my arrival. “You must be excited for tonight, you haven’t seen your best friend in years!”

            I was beaming. “I can’t wait. You have no idea how much I missed her.”

            “What kind of tea do you want today, sweetie?”

            “Surprise me,” I said as I made my way to the courtyard, “I’m going to go say hello to the babies.”

            The babies were, if possible, even more enthusiastic than I was. Jinora, usually quiet and contained, was playing around with a couple spirits and sining. Ikki immediately took my hand and started telling me everything she had planned to do with Korra once she arrived: she would teach Korra her new dance that incorporated a few Airbending moves, then they would talk about boys, then Korra was going to braid her hair like a Southern Water Tribe girl, then she and Korra were going to paint together, I stopped listening after a while. Meelo was showing of his Airbending (as per usual) and bragging about how he couldn’t wait for Korra to see how manly he had become in the past three years.

            “I thought you liked Asami, not Korra!” Ikki let go of my hand and jumped to her feet. _Juicy gossip_.

            Meelo went a little red in the face. “I am a simple man, I like a lot of ladies.” He turned and winked at me. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, beautiful woman.”

            “Maybe when you’re a bit older, Meelo!”

            Pema called me to say that our tea was ready and we sat at the pavilion looking over the water to watch out for Korra’s boat. The sun was just starting to set and I was getting nervous. Three years since I last heard her laugh, slept with her, or kissed her. And I didn’t know if she remembered any of it. _Thank Spirits that Pema made chamomile tea today._

            “Sweetie, you’re awfully quiet. Is everything okay?”

            “It’s so weird to think about…three years. So much has changed.”

            Pema rubbed my arm. “You know, I once gave Korra some advice that I think might help you right now.”

            “Oh?” Pema didn’t seem like the kind of person Korra would ask for advice. Pema was patient and motherly, Korra was active and ready to fight.

            She chuckled. “It was actually about Mako. I remember, while you and him were together, she wanted to be with him. I told her that she should be honest with him, like I was with Tenzin when he was dating Lin.”

            The tea was beginning to get cold. “What do you mean?”

            “Honesty goes a long way, Asami.” She sipped the rest of her tea and began to lead me inside for dinner. “If you love her you might as well tell her.”

            I crossed my arms. “Goodness, is there anyone on this team who doesn’t know that I’m in love with her?”

            “Probably Mako, and the kids. Maybe even Korra. Tell her.” She held the door open for me then cupped her hands to her mouth. “Kids, dinner!”

            Meelo and Ikki arrived first, still talking about how Meelo had become ever-so-manly and was ready to swoop the Avatar off her feet. Ikki seemed unimpressed. Jinora followed shortly thereafter, a couple spirits trailing behind her, but she shooed them away for dinner.

            We had barely sat down when one of the Acolytes came in to announce that there was a Southern Water Tribe ship heading towards the island. My stomach twisted and I could feel my heartbeat in my throat. She’s here.

            I followed the Air babies outside, hanging back a little so I wouldn’t seem too eager. I needed to play it cool. It may be obvious to Pema and Lin but I was going to contain myself. The only problem was that I couldn’t wipe the stupid gay grin from my face. _Hug her, but no kissing. She might not remember._

            Naga came bounding off the ship first and Tonraq followed. Tenzin greeted him. I couldn’t quite hear, but judging by there faces something wasn’t right.

            _Where is she?_

            “Korra left the South Pole six months ago. She’s written me letters, she said she was here in Republic City.” Tonraq gazed past Tenzin and towards us, as if looking for her, like she was maybe playing a prank on him and would jump out from behind us.

            But she didn’t come out of the ship or from behind us. She wasn’t here.

 

            I had my hands on the headboard to balance myself while I rode him. He was grabbing my hips and pushing them back and forth as I went faster, faster, _why isn’t this working?_ My hair was clumsily tied on top of my hand and a few strands had fallen out and stuck to the back of my neck with a little bit of sweat. Finally his face scrunched up the way it always had a few years ago and he gasped, then slowed down, then stopped altogether. I got off him and threw on my robe. “Did you finish?”

            “Yeah, don’t worry.” I lied. I looked at myself in the mirror: my makeup had kind of melted off and I looked like shit. I felt like shit, too. “This cannot happen again.”

            He finished a gulp of water. “What? Why? Did I somehow get worse?”

            “No, you got a little better actually,” this was honest, “but nobody can know about this and this cannot happen again, it’s just not right.”

            “Why? Korra and I broke up years ago, it’s not like she would be upset.”

            “Mako, you don’t get it.”

            He sighed. “Then help me get it. I really doubt she would be mad, she might actually be happy for us.”

            “Us?” _Oh, no._

            “We were a pretty healthy couple,” he was still lying in my bed, “I wouldn’t mind giving us a second chance.”

            _How can I politely tell him that this was a huge mistake and I have no feelings for him whatsoever so as to preserve our friendship and the structure of Team Avatar?_ “We were pretty unhealthy too, Mako.”

            “We’ve grown a lot since then.”

            “It’s not right.”

            “If it’s not right why invite me over? Am I just something to play with?”

            I leaned on the dresser and looked at my feet. “I guess I needed to make sure I was really over you, I’m sorry.” _There, that sounds kind of nice._

            He got out of bed and started putting his clothes back on. “Is this going to mess up our friendship?”

            I made eye contact with him for the first time that night. “No. Just because I’m over you doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my life. I love having you as my friend.”

            “You know, I think this might’ve been good for me,” he ran his hand through his hair to get it back into place, he had started wearing it neatly considering he was now working for the Prince of the Earth Kingdom, “I think I needed this to make sure that I was over you too. We never really had a real breakup or any closure. I just wish I could get the same with Korra.”

            I forced a smile and wished him a good night as he left. The image of the two of them in bed together, the thought of Korra moaning as he panted…it made me lightheaded and kept me from falling asleep. It felt like someone was reaching right into my gut and squeezing as hard as possible.

 

Bo stopped eating for the first time since he arrived. “You—“

“I know.”

“The same night that Korra didn’t arrive?”

I pinch the inside of my forearm. “Yup.”

“Oof.” He leans back into the couch. “You gotta tell her whether or not you tell her about how madly in love you are. She deserves to know.”

“I know. I just don’t know when.”

“As soon as possible.” I had never seen Bo so serious in my life. “As her best friend she deserves to know that you, and her ex, you know. Then you can worry about confessing your love for her.”

_So much for overcoming the apex._


	11. REUNION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: alcohol

“I…hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

            I looked up from the magazine that I couldn’t focus on reading and got up. “Only three years!” I took her in my arms and she held me the way she did that night that we kissed years ago. “It’s so good to see you again.”

            “You too.” She gave her stupid half-smile.

            _Asami, you’re still holding her!_

_She’s still holding you too, dummie._

_Quick. Say something._ “And I’m loving the hair!” It just brushed her jawbone and she somehow managed to look older and adorable at the same time.

            She pulled at where her ponytail would’ve been and blushed. “Thanks. You’re looking…snazzy as always.”

            I couldn’t grab myself. I held her left hand for a quick second to lead her into the dining room. “Come on, Mako got us a table at the restaurant.”

            The rest of the day was pretty hectic, considering Mako had to bring Wu along with him to lunch and the kid ended up being kidnapped. We weren’t together ten minutes before we were back in action but it seemed appropriate, and we agreed we wouldn’t have it any other way. We managed to save him and brought him back to the estate where Mako and Bolin’s family had stayed since having to evacuate Ba Sing Se. Grandma Yin seemed more than happy to keep a watchful eye over him.

            “You want to try to learn to drive again?” I joked after we saw to it that Mako and Wu were comfortably settled into the estate, swinging the keys around my finger.

            “Yeah, maybe after we stop having to worry about Kuvira.” She slid into the passenger seat and I turned the key in the ignition. “Spirits, I missed driving with you.”

            “Only driving? Cool, thanks.”

            She laughed. “Yup. Just driving. I can’t believe you moved out of the estate, where do you live now?”

            “An apartment by a college. Quite close to where your park is, actually. More importantly, where are you going to live now?”

            “Hmm. You know, I didn’t really consider that until now. Probably should’ve planned ahead, huh?”

            I turned up the radio a bit, knowing Korra she probably missed hearing the city’s music. “You could always stay at my place. I mean, it’s nothing much, but it’s cute. You’d like it.”

            “Asami, you’re too kind, I can’t intrude on your new space.” She tucked her hair behind her ear but the wind blew it out of place within seconds. “I’ll have to be up early to train, I would wake you up, plus I keep getting nightmares about Zaheer and those are never fun to deal with—“

            I parked the car behind the apartment building. “You dealt with my nightmares, remember? I wouldn’t mind returning the favour.”

            “I guess. This will be fun. It’ll be like old times, like our old sleepovers.”

            “Except now we’ve got three years to catch up on,” I said as I unlocked my apartment door and lead her in. “Welcome home.”

            She walked right past the kitchen and the living room and towards the bed, which I had put a screen in front of to make it seem a little more private, and opened the curtains in the window. I joined her and gazed out the window. We were on the third floor of the building and had a wonderful bird’s eye view of the street below: we could watch the cars drive past and people making purchases at the fruit stand and the little terrace of the tea shop. “You know, when I first moved to Republic City all those years ago, this is what I had in mind.”

            “What, a studio apartment with one window that looks down at a street?” _Who am I kidding? I love this place and how quaint it is._

            She pointed to where the buildings stopped a couple blocks away and a large patch of grass took over. “Is that the park?”

            “Yup. I spent a lot of time there while you were gone.”

            “Can we sneak in tonight?” her eyes widened and glistened with curiosity. “And drink sidecars?”

            I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “Anything for you, Avatar.”

            She turned and hugged me. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

            “Trust me,” I said as I stroked her hair, “I do.”

 

            After spending a few hours sitting on my living room floor eating takeout and catching up Korra cracked her neck. “Let’s sneak into my park.”

            “It’s gonna be cold,” I said as I packed the alcohol and the glasses into a bag, “go ahead and grab my jacket.”

            “You do realize I can firebend, right?”

            I chuckled as I put on my parka and handed her the jacket I usually wore, the black and red one with the Future Industries logo on the arm. “Put it on.”

            “Dunno, my biceps might not fit…” she put the jacket on and shoved her hands in the pockets. “How’s it look?”

            _Well, I do love the thought of you being in my clothes._ “Looks like you overestimated your biceps.”

            She looped her arm through mine as we left crossed the street and I lead the way to the park. There weren’t any lights in the park, I wanted it to feel like an escape from the constant illumination of the city, so she held a little flame in her hand and held it out in front of us. “This is kind of spooky.”

            “Over here.” I had been there so often that I knew the park by heart. Mind you, I also created it, but there was a particular bench I liked that overlooked her statue and a little pond and I wanted to sit there with her. Every time I had sat at this bench was because I missed her. It seemed appropriate to finally sit there together. I pulled out a bottle I had filled to the brim with sidecar cocktail and poured us each a glass. “Cheers.”

            She clinked hers against mine and took a sip. “This tastes even better than that other time we drank together.”

            “I had a lot of time to perfect my recipe while you were gone.” That sounded bitter. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right.”

            “It’s okay. I was gone for too long and I really left you in the dark and that was unfair of me.”

            I thought of our argument earlier that day when I told her that she didn’t get to disappear for three years then come back thinking she knew what might or might not be good for me. “I’m sorry for writing you so many letters. That must have smothered you.”

            “Actually? They were really comforting and helped me stay positive, which was pretty hard to do then. Thank you.”

            I turned to smile at her and caught her watching me. “What?”

            “I’m just remembering the last time we drank sidecars. Can we dance again?” she blushed a bit, then said: “you know, for old time’s sake.”

            I finished my drink and offered my hand. “Well, Avatar, you’ve had three years to practice, here’s hoping you got better.”

            We spent the next fifteen minutes or so giggling at each other as we tripped over our feet in the dark and taking quick breaks to down another glass because, hey, dancing makes you thirsty. But we managed to finish the bottle, the dancing got faster and sillier, and at one point Korra started Airbending little bursts of wind to wisp my hair around my face. Eventually she tripped over my foot and fell, dragging me with her.

            “Oh no, I’m so sorry, are you okay? Are you hurt? I learned a lot of healing with Katara while I was home…are you laughing?”

            I was. I could feel the alcohol starting to hit me. “It’s just, ha, think about it. The Avatar and the CEO of Future Industries snuck into a park at night to drink and dance. It’s ridiculous.”

            She chuckled and rolled over to face me. “Could you imagine if we got caught? If somebody called the cops and they came only to find the two of us drunk and disorderly?”

            “Could you imagine if it was Mako that found us?”

            “Or Lin?”

            We both fell silent. If Lin found us, we’d be toast. She would certainly not let us off the hook considering she was ready to charge her own sister years ago. “We should probably go home.”

            “Agreed.” She stood and offered her hand to help me up. “I love Lin but she still kind of scares me.”

            Getting back into the apartment and crawling under the warm covers in my underwear after being out in the cold felt fantastic. It was even better knowing that I would be sharing a bed with Korra. “Wake me if you have a nightmare, okay?”

            “Same to you.” She rubbed her nose on my pillow.

            “Are you wiping your boogers on my pillow?”

            “No, it was itchy, I swear!”

            I rolled over so that my back was facing her. “You’re almost as gross as Meelo.”

            “Take that back!” she scooted closer to me.

            I giggled. “Never.”

            She started tickling the side of my stomach. “Take it back.”

            “Never!” I shrieked as the tickling got worse. “All the elements in the world and you use tickling?”

            “Take it back, Miss Sato!”

            Before I registered what I was doing, the years of self-defence training kicked in. I kicked my leg out, flipped over, straddled her, and pinned her arms down. “Never.”

            She raised and eyebrow and that stupid half-smile splashed across her face. “Well. I guess you win this round.”

            I let go of her arms and crossed mine under my breasts. _Quit flirting._ “I guess I do.”

            But then she grabbed behind my thighs and sat up, which in turn threw me onto my back. “Tricked you.”

            My breathing slowed as we made eye contact. “Korra, please tell me you remember, the night before you were poisoned and we—“

            She leaned in and kissed my mouth. “How could I forget?”


	12. don't let the door hit you on your way out

“So what are you worried about? She remembers you two kissed, you’re together now and you can live happily ever after!”

I peek out my window to see that the sun is almost set and turn on a couple lamps. “She hasn’t spoken to me in days, Bo. I told her about Mako and I the morning after and I haven’t seen her since. I have no idea where she’s staying or if she’s even okay.”

He purses his lips. “Yeah…I mean, she’s doing alright, I’ve seen her around. She went all Spirit-y and saved a group of people from the Spirit Wilds with Mako.” He sees that I’m uncomfortable and adds: “he had to help, you know, being part of the police, but I don’t really think he did much but guard Korra as she tried to meditate.”

“Did she get into the Avatar State?”

He shakes his head. “Not at first. She decided she needed to confront Zaheer so she visited him in prison.”

“She what??”

“I know.” He’s looking at the bottom of his teacup. “I was surprised, too, when I first heard, but it worked. He realized that they were both against Kuvira and lead her into the Spirit World and she reconnected with Raava and everything.”

I slump into the couch. “That girl is beyond amazing.” _But she didn’t tell me._

“How did she react to the news about you and Mako?”

 

            “Kor, wait, I’m sorry—“

            “Sorry? You’re sorry. Okay. I’ll forgive you for leading me to think that you loved me too, then fucking my ex-boyfriend.” She was trying to pull her boots on but got frustrated and ended up kicking one off, and I’m not sure if she meant to put Airbending behind it, but it flew through the kitchen and bounced off the refrigerator. “Sorry. That was out of hand, but I’m still mad.”

            “I didn’t lead you to think that I love you, I do love you.” I picked up the boot and handed it to her. “Please, Korra, I was in such a rough spot, I only really had sex with him because I was hoping that in being with him I could maybe feel you in some weird way but it was obviously a huge fucking mistake.”

            “You weren’t the only one struggling, Asami! Did you think it was any easier on me, being stuck and helpless for years without my friends, without you?” She put her boot on, then the other one, and swung her backpack over her shoulders. “You know what’s the worst part? Part of me wishes you never told me, that you could have kept me in blissful ignorance. How am I supposed to get that image out of my head?”

            “Really? You would’ve been fine with this being a secret?” Now I was angry. “I’m disgusted with myself for doing this to us, the guilt grabbed my gut and practically yanked it outside my body. You deserved to know, Korra, I’ve never lied to you and you know that. Do you really think starting off a relationship with a huge secret is a good idea?”

            She opened the door and looked into the hallway. “I’m not so sure there’s any relationship anymore.”

            I fully expected the door to slam behind her and to hear her stomp down the hallway, but instead she closed it slowly so as not to set me off edge, and I only just heard her boots skim the surface as she walked towards the stairwell. I left the door unlocked behind her, hoping she would come back, but she didn’t.


	13. Another (short-lived) Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: death

Not surprisingly, I spent a few days out of my apartment and stayed in the office. It didn’t feel right sleeping there without Korra and I needed to keep working on some hummingbird prototypes that I had started just before her arrival back in Republic City. I knew we would need something to combat Kuvira, and I figured that her being such a proud Earthbender, she would construct something that would be stable on ground. Hopefully that pride got in her way of planning ahead for an aerial attack.

            The phone rang and I seriously considered letting it ring, figuring it would just be a customer that I could get back to later, but I picked it up at the last second. “Asami Sato speaking.”

            “Asami! Thank Spirits, I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

            “Korra?”

            I heard her sigh on the other line. “Listen, we can sort out what happened the other day when we don’t have an imminent attack on the city, but Team Avatar needs you right now. I’m about to fly over to you on Uugi with the boys, we need to scope out Kuvira’s army.”

            “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” I put the phone back on its hook before she could respond. She was right, we had a city to protect, and we were mature enough to not let drama get in the way of our work. We had already proven that multiple times with previous Mako-related drama.

            _Well, this is kind of Mako drama too._

_Spirits, why is it always about him?_

            But boy, was it great to be back in action with the whole gang. The four of us set off past the mountains that bordered the city, thinking we wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning considering Kuvira was probably miles away preparing for the attack in a couple weeks. I wanted to talk to Korra after we found a spot to camp out for the night, but I told myself not to. We had a war to win, and if we lost, there really wouldn’t be a relationship to talk about. We would be imprisoned or killed. War came first.

            But we ran into her army way earlier than expected. We hadn’t even cleared the mountains when we saw an army of mecha-suits marching towards the city, and it felt like the world was shaking. Not just the ground, but the air, too. How could the air be shaking?

            And then it cleared the mountain that was blocking it from our vision. It was a giant mecha-suit, guided by the Great Uniter herself, complete with some sort of gun contraption. The robot’s head turned to face us and the gun was pointed our way.

            Bolin yelled for Korra to get us out—fast. We barely dodged the electric purple ray and Uugi flew behind another mountain for safety, when the gun again charged and the ray obliterated the mountain.

            I leaned over the saddle to see Korra. “We need to go warn Raiko and the others.”

            She kept looking straight ahead. “On it.”

 

            Upon arriving back in the city, I was ordered to go back to my office with Varrik and start working on getting the hummingbirds finished while Korra went to the front lines to help General Iroh. I turned round to look at her as I walked with Varrick and she was watching, her eyes wide and screaming “don’t worry, just focus on the birds”.

            I walked into the factory to see that the workers had be evacuated, and in any other case if I had walked into an empty factory I would have lost my cool, but I was just glad they got out of the city. I wasn’t about to put innocent lives at risk just to build some hummingbirds. I turned to Varrick and scowled at him. “Right, you better get to work, I still don’t trust you and this is your one chance to prove yourself to me for screwing me over. I want thirty birds finished within the hour, between the two of us I think we can get that done.”

            I threw him a welding mask, put mine on, and got to work. “Is there anything we can help with, Asami?” Tenzin shouted from the observation deck.

            I had almost forgotten I had brought them all along for their safety. “Yeah, think of a plan b if this doesn’t work out.” I appreciated the offer to help out but frankly having people who had no clue what they were doing on my floor would have done nothing but cause me more stress.

            A half hour later and about twelve birds in, Korra returned. I stopped working momentarily to hear what was going on. “Raiko surrendered, it’s up to us now.”

            _Shit. Work faster._ She continued to talk with them for a few more minutes before taking Tenzin, Bumi, Jinora and Kai with her, along with rope and a bag. _What is she playing at?_

            I kept working and lost track of time while focusing, but another half hour passed and I heard a low rumbling before I felt the ground beneath me start to shake. It was Kuvira, and her weapon was pointed at us. I heard Korra yell “run” from upstairs, followed by frantic footsteps, and I ran. The ray destroyed the building, along with all the birds I had just finished up on.

            _Just you fucking wait, I’m going to destroy that mecha-suit that you would be nothing without._

            “I still have a couple prototypes in my office,” I offered after we cleared out of the rubble and decided we weren’t giving up yet. “Varrick and I could try to get them flying so you’ll have some air support.”

            “Take the wounded with you.” Korra said. She and the rest of the Team moved out.

            I noticed Su and Lin carrying an unconscious Baatar Jr. between the two of them. “Not to be rude, but what’s he doing here?”

            Lin chuckled. “Apparently Korra and the other Airbenders kidnapped him and held him for information about the mecha-suit.”

            “Did it work?”

            “Not really,” Su continued, “it would have, though. Korra was going to threaten him physically but instead told him that unless he radioed Kuvira and get their army to give up Republic City and leave, she would make it her life’s mission to keep him and Kuvira apart forever.”

            “Yeah, it would’ve worked if Kuvira hadn’t found our location by tracking where he radioed her from and blown up your factory.”

            The factory I could rebuild. But to abstain from physical violence and instead threaten to keep him away from the love of his life forever? That was wildly unlike Korra.

            I lead them into my office and showed Su a bed for Baatar Jr. Lin disappeared momentarily. “Let’s get to work.”

            With even less time, and the fact that the prototypes weren’t nearly as ready as the ones in my factory, we were really pushed to our limits. I tested out the first one we finished and it ended up malfunctioning as Korra arrived with more injured. “How are the hummingbirds coming along?”

            I rubbed the grease off my face with a towel. “Slowly, but we’ll have a couple ready. What happened, how are you back so soon?”

            “We had to retreat. That mecha-suit is impossible to take down. Even the joints are platinum, we can’t Metalbend it whatsoever.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “I really don’t know how to we’re going to do this.”

            Something behind her caught my eye. It was Lin, accompanied by my father. “Dad?”

            Korra whirled around in front of me, creating a barrier between the two of us. “I figured we could use whatever help we can get,” Lin said, “if the prison is still standing after this we’ll put him back.”

            Korra questioned him about how he planned on helping us. He had overheard us talking about how the mecha-suit was made of platinum. “We have plasma saws we could use.”

            “Those are too heavy, they’ll weigh down the birds.” I reminded him.

            He shook his head. “I have an idea. Let’s get to work.”

            We added electrical elements to the two remaining prototypes that Dad transformed into plasma saws. The plan was to attack the mecha-suit with a swarm of Airbenders to distract Kuvira. Dad and I would be in one hummingbird with Varrik and Xhu Li in the other, and we’d try to create an opening with the plasma saws for the Team to sneak into. Once inside, they’d disconnect the machine entirely.

            As we finished up the suits, Dad took my hand. “It’s great to be working together again.”

            “I love you, Dad.” Finally. After over three years of hating him and pitying him and questioning whether or not I would ever be able to forgive him, we were working in the same workshop for the same cause.

            “I love you, too.”

            I climbed into the back seat of the suit and we made way out of the office and for Kuvira. “We’ll have to be fast, Dad, and careful.”

            “You’re in love with her. Aren’t you?” I could see a little smile on his face through the reflection on the window.

            “Can we talk about this maybe after we defeat the giant platinum monster?”

            He chuckled. “I am so happy for you, Asami. I hope that, one day, I’ll be able to walk you down the aisle to her.”

            “I would love that.” But the moment was quickly ruined when we finally saw the giant marching through the streets, the Airbenders flying around it to annoy Kuvira from the outside. “Let’s focus on this and then we’ll talk about wedding planning.”

            He nodded. “I’m going in for the leg.”

            But Kuvira nearly swatted us, and we flew off. “We’re never gonna have the time to get through.” I said.

            But Korra went into the Avatar State, and using water from the river, froze the mecha-suit. Kuvira shot down the bird Varrick and Xhu Li were in, and they ejected. We were back trying to carve a hole into the surface when the ice that had paralyzed the mecha-suit started to crack.

            “We need to get out of here,”

            Dad continued carving. “Almost there!”

            A chunk of ice hit the bird. “We have to go. Now.”

            “Almost there…” he was about two thirds of the way done, “almost there.”

            The arm broke free of the ice and shot towards us. “Dad, now!”

            “Goodbye, Asami,” he flipped the switch in preparation to eject my seat, “I love you.”

            I screamed for him as I was shot out of the bird and the parachute opened. The hand finally came down upon the bird and crushed it, he was still inside, and the remains of it crumpled to the ground to reveal a hole in the leg. He did it.

            I didn’t burst into tears. I didn’t scream or cry out. He sacrificed himself for me, for Korra, for Republic City and for the rest of the world. He sacrificed himself for the chance that we might defeat Kuvira and bring peace to Benders and non-Benders alike.

            I landed on the roof of a hotel and peered over the edge once I had unbuckled myself. The Team was nowhere to be seen and the hand was lifted from the hole, its palm completely clean.

_They made it._

 

 


	14. It's not him, it's us.

Bo cracks his back as he stands. “She seemed excited to see you once she walked out the Spirit portal. You were the first person she looked at.”

“I know.” I say as I stand. “I’m sorry. I needed to tell somebody. I have no idea what to do.”

He hugs me. “You need to talk to her. We’re all going to be together for the wedding, you’ll have to do something before then. For Xhu Li and Varrick.”

“I will.”

“Come on, Pabu.” The little creature climbs onto his shoulder and he opens the door to leave, but is blocked by Korra, one hand of hers in the air ready to knock. “Korra! We were just talking about you!”

She raises an eyebrow. “You were?”

“All good things!” he stumbles around her as she enters the apartment. “Anyway, Pabu and I are gonna grab some grub, see you soon, your hair looks nice, good job doing Avatar things, bye!” and he runs down the hall to the stairs.

She lingers under the doorframe. “Can I?”

“Of course.” I walk into the kitchen as I run my hands through my hair, thinking of what to say, if anything, as she closes the door behind her and places her backpack on the ground. “Korra, I—“

“When we held Baatar Jr. I couldn’t get to him through violent means. Or maybe I decided I was done being angry and resorting to physical means, I don’t know, but I realized that there’s pain in this world that’s worse than physical pain. Something that’s worse than torture, poison, being injured in a fight, the list goes on. The worst feeling is loneliness and I realized this when I spent three years by myself. Three years without you.” She was pacing as the spoke, talking with her hands, letting it all spill out.

I gulp. “I was lonely those years without you, too.”

She looks away from the floor and at me. “I wasn’t mad. I don’t know how to describe it. I didn’t feel betrayed in a catty way, that’s not us, that’s never been us, and it’s never been about Mako. I was upset because I wanted to be who he was that night.”

“You were jealous of Mako fucking me?” I’m crying and I don’t care. “Korra, I would have much rather spent that night with you than him.”

“I know.” She stops pacing and stands across from me on the other side of the counter. “I wasn’t angry at you or Mako. I’m not that person. I’m not angry anymore. I am only disappointed in myself.”

I take her hands in mine. “What? Why?”

“I hurt you. I left you hanging.”

I shake my head and a few more tears trickle down my face. “I was only hurting for you. Not because of you.”

“I think we’re both still hurting a bit.” She squeezes my hands. “But I think we can’t do this without each other.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m in love with you.” She pulls my hands closer to her to the point that my feet are dangling just above the floor.

I climb onto the counter and swing my legs around and wrap them around her body. “I’m in love with you, too.”

She stands on her tippie-toes to try to kiss me. “This counter is too tall.”

“You’re just a short Avatar.” I hop off the counter and stand right in front of her and kiss her forehead, which is at lip-level for me. “See?”

She stands on her toes again and kisses me. “Be my date to the wedding.”

“We’ll be the snazziest couple there.”


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: alcohol, sex

Korra and I sat next to each other for the ceremony with Mako on my other side, still completely unaware of the two of us. To be fair, nobody knew yet. Except Bo and Lin and Pema of course, but Bo probably told Opal, and if Pema and Lin knew then Tenzin certainly did. Would he tell the Air babies? Maybe once Wu found out about us he would stop trying to pick us up. _I really hope he’s not one of those gross guys who tries to “get in” on two girls in a relationship._

_Are we even technically in a relationship yet?_

            Korra’s elbow brushed my arm as she shuffled in her seat next to me and I could almost feel her cheeks flush. I lifted my pinky finger and rested it on hers. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her look from our fingers, to my lips, and back to the ceremony.

            “You know,” she said as the ceremony ended, “it’s open bar. We could get a couple sidecars. If you want.”

            I smiled. “Absolutely.”

            And, as per usual whenever we drank sidecars, we danced. In fact, we completely stole the dance floor. Bolin and Opal cheered us on, Kai and Jinora tried to challenge us to some sort of dance off, and at one point Meelo interrupted us to ask for a dance.

            “Beautiful woman, I feel these past few months have made me a man, could I have this dance?” he asked, offering his hand.

            I didn’t even need to look at Korra to get her reaction. I could hear her hearty laugh and hoped it wouldn’t offend poor Meelo. “Of course, Good Sir.”

            Eventually, the alcohol began to wear off and we sobered up as the party started to cool down. Korra stood and held out her hand to help me up, as we had just sat watching the Spirit portal, and decided we’d go on vacation together. “One last drink before we go pack?”

            We downed a couple more sidecars and snuck out, feeling tipsy again, and took a cab to the apartment. She rested her head against my shoulder on the drive back, kissing my collarbone as I played with her hair. “You’re silly when you’re drunk.”

            She sat up and looked me in the eye. “You think I’m drunk? Sami, I built up an impressive tolerance while I was gone.”

            The taxi pulled up outside the building and Korra burst out immediately. “Could I get your keys? I may not be drunk but I do really have to pee.”

            I didn’t believe her at first, but when I tossed her the keys she caught them in one hand and ran into the building without stumbling. _She’s fine._ I paid the driver, thanked him, and walked up the stairs to find my apartment door open.

            “Korra…?” I closed the door behind me as I took off my bracelets, and placed them on the kitchen counter. “You good in there?”

            The bathroom door opened. “What do you think?”

            I looked up. She had taken her hair out of her ponytail. She stood in a beautiful navy blue bra (how had I not noticed how beautiful her breasts were until now?) and matching silk panties that sat a couple inches below where her abs ended. She pulled at her hair the same way she did when we were reunited at the restaurant. “I think I’m the luckiest girl in both worlds right now.”

            She licked her lips and smiled. “I’ve never done this before.”

            “Avatar Korra,” I sauntered over to her as I collected my hair and pushed it onto one shoulder. “Could you perhaps help me out of my dress?”

            I turned and felt her hands shake as she unzipped it. I let it fall to the floor and stepped out of it, still wearing my heels, and turned to face her again. “R-red’s a really nice colour on you!”

            I put two fingers on her chest to gently push her towards the bed. “I think it would be quite a nice colour on you, too.”

            She was walking backwards, and clumsily, yet so fucking adorably, fell back onto the bed. I leaned in to kiss her, making space for me between her thighs, and let my lips hover just above hers. “You wouldn’t mind if I got a little lipstick on you, right?”

            She shook her head. “No. Not at all. Please do, please—“

            I took her face in my hand and kissed her once. “Scoot up.”

            She shuffled back and let her head rest on the pillow. I kicked my heels off, pushed her thighs further back with my hands and began by kissing her neck. I could feel her smile as her jaw moved against my hair, her hands creeping up my back when…

            “Did you just take off my bra in one movement?” _Impressive._

            Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, I—“

            I pinned her hands down. “Bad girls get punished,” and bit her bottom lip.

 

            Two hours later I laid panting on the kitchen floor, Korra’s lips gently kissing my inner thighs, my hair splayed out behind me and a bit of sweat between me and the tile. “Spirits.”

            Korra crawled on top of me and I wrapped my arms around her back. “We gotta sneak out of more weddings.” She said.

            I laughed. “You exhausted me, Avatar.”

            “Just doing my job.” She nuzzled into my neck and yawned. “We could always wait until tomorrow to go on our vacation?”

            “We’re going to have to! It’s past four in the morning and I can’t feel my legs.”

            She lifted herself to look at me. “That good?”

            “I’m keeping you forever.” I kissed her and smiled. “Come on, come to bed.”

            She raised her eyebrows as we stood. “Again?”

            “No, silly, to sleep.”

            She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Spirits. Not that that wasn’t good! That was…really good. Like, really really good. But I’m about to fall asleep right here.”

            I took her hand and lead her under the covers. We laid on our sides, facing each other, her muscular leg between my slim ones, noses touching and the blankets pulled up to our underarms. “This is my favourite part.”

            “Of what?” she yawned. “Sex?”

            I swept a piece of hair off her face. “Of being in love.”

            She held my cold hand in hers and kissed my fingers. “I think it’s my favourite part, too.”

            “By the way,” I said, my eyes closing as I started to fall asleep, “you look really snazzy in lingerie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> srry this took a while to post finals have been kicking my butt


End file.
